Memoirs: REBOOT
by Loralii
Summary: The rewritten version of SamuraiKai's Memoirs of an Otaku.  Caruh is thrown into the world of Naruto after an accident leaves her dead in her own world.  What adventures await her now?  GaaraxOC
1. Part 1: The Hospital

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! It is a very sad truth.**

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><p>Life works in funny ways sometimes. I know that there are many people who have wondered what it would be like to enter the dimension of their favorite book or anime. Many of my old friends used to dream about it, I know I did. I did, until it happened to me. This is my story.<p>

The car shot down the street with torpedo-like speed. Not my car, mind you, the one that passed me because I was going too slow in the express lane. That's when the "accident" happened. Right ahead of me, he had to slam on his breaks and I had no time to react. The driver beside me tried to avoid an accident by swerving into my lane, straight into me, pushing my sweet little white Honda into the oncoming traffic. I had nowhere to go and the truck (because with my luck it would be a truck) in front of me had no time to stop before hitting me head-on. That is the last thing I remember before everything went black.

My mind woke before my body did, and all I could register was pain. Not the stabbing pain of a terrible accident just passed, but the dull ache of knowing you'll survive without knowing the full extent of the damage. The crisp clean scents in the air that I caught told me I must be in a hospital, as did the uncomfortable mattress beneath me.

So I was in a hospital. That was good, sorta. Now I just needed to get an idea of the real damage. Forcing my eyes to open I surveyed the room the way Master Azin had taught us: two exits, the door and the window, though I wasn't sure what floor I was on so the window may be a bad idea. Next, choose a color: blue vase, blue sea painting, blue bed sheets, blue chair... old man in white and red sitting on chair. Wait.. what?

"H-Hokage-sama?"

I think I surprised the poor man, because the second I said those words he jumped back and his hands flew into seals. Trying to keep up with and understand what he was doing gave me a headache, so instead of succumbing to this surreal dream I closed my eyes to block it out.

A few moments passed, and when nothing happened I opened one eye cautiously and looked at him again. His hands had stopped moving, but were still in the formation of one of his many seals, the rat seal if I recognized it correctly. I hadn't been watching so I didn't know what he'd been leading up to, but as I just stared at him without reacting he relaxed his arms slowly. When they had made it to his side, he studied me carefully.

"I've never seen you before," he spoke, his voice skeptical, "how do you know who I am?"

I almost laughed out loud, but suppressed the urge. No use telling him the truth, he would think I was crazy. Ignoring the fact that I thought I was crazy, I stood no chance if he felt the same. This was getting ridiculous, so all I could do was lie. "Umm..." I started, faltering and unsure of what to say, "I'm related to Hatake Kakashi, and I am here because my mother died recently and sent me here saying he would take care of me."

Yeah, so blame me for not coming up with a well thought-out lie. I was dead meat if anyone asked Kakashi.

When asked, I politely lied again, stating that I was his grandmother's-aunt's-cousin's adopted daughter, twice removed on his father's side. If you followed that I have to congragulate you. When I originally said it to him, I didn't have any idea what was coming out of my mouth. Then I said my name was Caruh, stolen from a role-play with my best friend, I was sixteen (the sole truth in this jumble of lies) and I was a ninja from Sunagakure, Village Hidden in the Sand.

It was clear he didn't believe me, so I looked around for something to use as proof. That was when I noticed that my backpack was on the nightstand by my bed. I looked at it, wondering why it was there, and then decided that it didn't matter. What did matter was that it was there, and that within it was my salvation. I pulled it onto my lap, and the Hokage gave me a strange glance, like he was ready to do signs and attack me. Not that I blamed him, he couldn't see what I was reaching for.

"It's okay, Hokage-sama, I won't attack." I didn't add that I couldn't in the state I was in, I doubted he would appreciate what that implied. I pulled out the sand hitae-ate that I'd gotten at an anime convention earlier in the month, and showed it to him. Amazingly enough, he took it from my fingers and examined it. Then he nodded, seeming to believe that I was telling the truth. For now.

"So, what happened to you then?" he asked, studying my body. My Raggedy-Ann red hair, tied neatly back in a ponytail that smoothed the curls at least against my skull, and my grey eyes, rather boring if you ask me, were my most prominent features. I was covered in bruises and cuts still, but nothing serious. Before I could answer that question, he asked more. "Why were you lying outside our village nearly dead a few days ago?"

Nearly dead outside the village? That was more interesting news. I would have to get more into my story now. "My mother died sending me here to find Kakashi, as he is my last living relative. On my way here I was attacked by ninjas with poor information, and left to die."

"If you truly are related to Hatake Kakashi, why has he not been here to see you?"

"I was never formally adopted into the family, so it wasn't something my mother talked of much. She wasn't ashamed of me, but when you find a little girl abandoned its hard to tell people who she is and where she came from. I suppose I'm not technically related to Kakashi, but my mother was distantly." There, I'd found a loop-hole, and a pretty good one at that. Oye, but I was making my story less believable. Thank heaven for drama class. I think he believed that story more than the previous one, actually, though not by much.

"If that is true," he said, turning and walking towards the door before looking back at me, "I will get Kakashi then, so he can visit you here, okay?"

"Okay," I answered with a nod, a knot forming in my stomach.

It wasn't but a few minutes that the one-eyed-wonder himself walked in, gracing me with his presence and confusion written all over his face. Er, well, in his one visible eye, his nose and mouth being perpetually covered and his sharingan hidden behind his own leaf hitae-ate. Anyway, there was obvious confusion.

Finally his eye settled on me. "So you're my..." he paused, his eye studying me while he tried to figure out what I supposedly was to him. He decided on, "Relative?"

With a sheepish look on my face, I nodded, ever so slowly.

"And how exactly?"

"You're grandma's-aunt's-cousin's not-quite adopted daughter twice removed on your father's side," I answered, adjusting my tale to fit what I'd ended up telling the Hokage. I was surprised I could remember all of it though.

"That's impossible, my grandmother's aunt didn't have a cousin," he told me, in a tone that said he didn't believe a word I was saying. So what else was new?

I did have to laugh, though, when I wondered was how he knew that. "You know for a fact that your grandmother's aunt didn't have a cousin?" I asked, trying really hard, and failing horribly, to keep a straight face.

"Yes," he answered cautiously, now looking at me like I was from another world. Which, coincidentally, I was. "However, even if she had, that was three generations ago, in the time of the first Hokage. There is no way she would still be young enough, or even alive, to adopt a child. And I'm sure that there is no way she'd raise that child in Hiding in Sand."

Damn, I was caught. I did not want to be caught by Kakashi of all people, it meant I was in deep trouble.

"Okay, I lied," I came straight and said it.

The look he gave me was priceless, yet rather sad. At the time, I knew if I wanted Kakashi's trust or respect ever again I would have to work for it, and work hard. Instead of giving a lecture or anything, however, he asked me to introduce the real me, and explain how I'd known about him.

"You know, it's a funny story." He gave me a cold look. I sighed. "A story you wouldn't believe."

His eyebrow raised. "Try me."

I did, on the grounds that he didn't go sharing it with everyone. He said he'd see what he could do.

"I'm really from another dimension, where ninjas are a thing of the past, and this world is nothing but a television show, and a comic book. One that my parents were always annoyed with me for watching and reading, but that's beside the point.

"My real name is Jacqueline, my friends call me Jackie, but I wouldn't mind using a different name while I'm here."

He sat on the bedside and looked at me. "Okay, so for now, you're my relative. We'll explain everything to the others... when you're ready?"

"Why aren't you telling me to, I don't know, confess? Or commit myself to an insane asylum?"

"Because, for my own reasons, I believe you. And, seeing as the name you gave yourself already was Caruh, why don't we just use that?"

I nodded, now the confused one. A twinkle in his eye told me he understood this, and he was smiling at his advantage. I looked at him. "What should I do now?"

"Rest, we'll take care of the rest of it when you are released from the hospital, hopefully tomorrow."

A good idea, if I ever heard one.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I know I said Sunday, but as I finished the editing, I wanted to get it posted today so you didn't have to wait as long for it. Hopefully, you all like it, the majority of it is the same. Again, my thanks go to SamuraiKai for the story. This will be the last time I mention it, as from here on in I am going to consider it my story.<strong>

**Caruh and Gaara will still get together, and the plot will unfold much the way SamuraiKai wanted it to. She did give me the plans for the story. With that said, I hope you like the rewritten version of the story, and please forgive me for cutting off the end of the title, as it should be apparent what the story is if you've been following. Just in case, the original title was Memoirs of an Otaku by SamuraiKai.**

**I will also take down the author's note after a few chapters, once things start rolling smoothly.**

**Now, onward with the next chapter, which I have begun editing and will be posted by Sunday. Love you all! Please enjoy Memoirs: REBOOT!**


	2. Part 2: Kakashi's Apartment

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Just Caruh, for now, because she was given to me by SamuraiKai.**

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><p>The next time I awoke, it was in a different room. At first glance I though I was back in my own room, the entire hospital affair having been a dream. It wasn't until I looked around a second time that I realized it was just a different room in the hospital. The room wasn't personalized enough to be my room, or anyone's personal bedroom.<p>

I was almost sad that I wasn't home, but then I realized that this meant I was still in the world of Naruto: the good's and bad's of it. True, Kakashi still did not trust me, and the Hokage thought I was psychotic, but at least I had yet to give anyone else a reason to dislike me.

Maybe that was unfair, it wasn't that Kakashi disliked me, he'd believed my story after all and was willing to go along with it. It was that he did not like a person that lied to him right off the bat, and as I feel the same way it came as no surprise.

As a matter of fact, it was his voice that woke me out of my thoughts. "I see you're awake," he said quietly, walking towards the bed from the shadows.

"Yes, awake, but not all here," I answered, only telling the truth. I was more interested in thinking about my lack of a home and a family for the joys of being in an anime, than I was about the proper etiquette used with a jounin and the respect they deserved.

He didn't really seem to mind my lack of respect however, and only nodded. "Understandable."

"It is?"

"Perfectly," was his response. He stopped at the bedside. "You're to be released as soon as you wake up, which is now, so we need to go check you out."

Slowly, I slipped my feet over the edge of the bed and then noticed that I wasn't wearing the hospital gown anymore. "When did my clothes get changed?" I asked, looking up at him, then turned skeptical. "And by whom?"

A laugh escaped his lips, "It wasn't by me, I left the room when the nurse told me to so she could put you in clothes you could actually leave in."

"And where did these clothes come from?"

"How should I know? She just appeared with them, now come on." His voice had hardened slightly, he was losing his patience. I followed, not wanting to get him angry with me. He went through the check-out process for me easily, and then we left.

Following a step behind anyone wasn't really natural to me, so I sped up a little about a block away from the hospital and made my way beside him instead. Without even a sideways glance, he began speaking.

"Caruh, does Sunagakure train its students well?" he asked, and I wondered what he meant. Now he glanced at me, and motioned around him. I looked around, following the sweep of his hand, and laughed at my own stupidity. There were a lot of people, he wasn't about to ask about a different world or dimension with all these people around us. It would cause quite a stir, for sure.

"Indeed, they do, I could show you," I answered, and I don't think that was quite what he'd expected my answer to be.

"I see, and what do you know?" He was playing a game now, because I'd given him the perfect opening. I couldn't blame him, I had answered just enough to make him curious what I really did know.

"Enough." Again, not the answer he had been looking for, but I hadn't been trying to give him what he'd been looking for. All I'd been trying to do was make up a story so that the people in the street wouldn't think I was totally nuts. They all probably knew about mine and Kakashi's supposed relations. If we didn't at least act like we were trying to get to know each other people would become suspicious. One thing I didn't need right now was suspicion from the villagers of Konoha.

I did know some things anyway, so it wasn't entirely a lie. Maybe not enough to satisfy him, but enough for a girl with very little by means of learning ninjutsu in a world where it barely existed. We walked in silence from there, Kakashi evidently choosing to think instead of talk now.

Eventually he stopped in front of an apartment door, and reached into his pocket to get keys.

"Your place?" I asked, breaking the silence. He merely nodded, and unlocked the door, stepping aside to let me walk in first. Quite a gentleman. "Thank you, Kakashi-san."

"You're welcome," he said. Once we were inside, he sat on a couch, throwing his keys on a coffee table and put his feet up on the same table. "Now, we need to discuss some things," he told me, without even giving me a chance to look around and take in the rest of his apartment.

"We do?" I asked, not sure where to sit or what to do so just standing there, staring at him.

"Yes. Now first of all, we are technically related, as far as everyone else is concerned. Therefore, you cannot act like we aren't."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused by his wording.

"Treat me like you would your uncle at home, wherever that is."

"Only one problem," I told him, "I'm pretty introverted, especially around a lot of people, and when my uncle's there so are usually other people too, so I usually say hi and then don't say anything else. I let them start the conversations, and usually don't talk much even when they do. I just feel uncomfortable."

He raised an eyebrow, and then blinked. "How rude of me, sit down Caruh, or should I call you Jackie when we're alone?"

"Caruh is fine," I answered, sitting on a chair across from him. "I don't want to be Jackie anymore, not while I'm here. She had problems that I don't want to take with me if I don't have to. Caruh is a new person, let's keep it that way."

Nodding, he went on. "So, you've never been alone with an uncle?"

"I have with aunts, but not with uncles unless my aunt is there."

"Then think of me as an aunt instead."

I couldn't help but start laughing at that. "Oh I can see it now!" I giggled, forcing myself to calm down. "Auntie Kakashi, please help me with this dress! It just refuses to zip!" Such a show was made of it that one could almost see the smile gracing his lips even beneath the mask. It would not be needed of course, I could see the twinkle in his eye that showed me what he was thinking.

"So, now that that's been settled," he went on, a laugh in his voice. "What all do you know about me and this world then?"

"I know about your sharingan, and about... wait..."

"Hmm?"

"What have you done with your cell so far?"

"We got back from the fight with Zabuza a few days ago, why?"

That was depressing to hear, I wouldn't ever get to meet Haku. With a sigh, I nodded. "I know about that, and all about kyuubi and Naruto. I know about your love for Icha Icha Paradise." He stopped me there with a wave of his hand, apparently uncomfortable with the fact that I knew that many details.

"You said as we were walking over here that you knew some abilities," he noted, changing the subject ever so subtly. Or attempting to anyways.

"I mostly lied for the sake of the people in the streets," I told him, and he cocked his head at me before sighing.

"Are you a chronic liar, Caruh?"

"Not usually," I promised, "I just don't know what to say around here."

"The truth is usually the best choice. I may believe your insane story about another world, but I have my own reasons for doing so. I do not like that you have lied to me about nearly everything else. How do I know that everything else you've said today was true?"

"You have to trust me, at least I've confessed to my lies. I'm sorry Kakashi-san, it's just that I didn't want the people to get suspicious of my knowing nearly nothing. I am, however, decent at taijutsu, as my friend's and I trained together all the time, so it wasn't entirely a lie."

Another nod. "Very well, perhaps tomorrow-"

He was interrupted as the door flung open and Naruto ran in. "Kakashi-sensei! We've been called out for a mission!" he yelled, only then noticing me. "Huh?"

"Naruto, allow me to introduce my relative, Hatake Caruh." I blushed lightly and bowed to him. He returned it hurriedly and then ran to whisper into Kakashi's ear, glancing at me occasionally.

When he was finished, Kakashi's eyes were wide. He turned me, "Forgive me for cutting this short Caruh, I promise to make it up to you, but we are needed right now." I nodded and the two of them ran out, leaving me stranded in Kakashi's living room.

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><p><strong>Sorry this was late guys, but I lost internet connection for a little while. Its back now though, so I promise to get you the next chapter out by Sunday, like I promised last week. I'll stick to it this time though. Thanks guys, I hope you like the edited versions. I'm really not trying to change her story at all, just update it a bit. Let me know what you guys think.<strong>


	3. Part 3: Battlefield

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the canon characters. All I own right now is Caruh and any other OC's, courtesy of SamuraiKai.**

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><p>It was only about three minutes after they had left that I realized something: I was bored. A couch, even an apartment, wasn't enough to amuse me for long. In that three minutes I had turned on the TV, realized I was not in the mood to watch TV, turned it off, wandered the place and got familiar with it, sat back down and turned the TV on and off again. That was when I had made my monumental discovery.<p>

As far as I was concerned I needed to go find interesting things to do, or at least an interesting thing to do. Going to the market was out of the question, I had no money. Well, none of their money. I had $11.46, but that was American money, and not going to do me any good. I could wander and get acquainted with my new town, but that seemed silly as all I could do was wander and I felt out of place still.

Then it hit me, and I wondered how I could possibly be so stupid. I mean, really, safety or not, how did the idea of following Kakashi and Naruto not enter my head until then? Five perfectly good minutes of my life wasted, and I was not about to lose another one. Quickly, I ran out the door, asked the person nearest to me which way they had gone, and followed their directions. I saw them not long after, waiting by the northern gate; exactly where the person I had asked said they would be.

Funny thing, after a moment of thinking about it, I realized that I had never heard of such a mission as the one they appeared to be going on. Kakashi would kill me if he realized what I was doing, but it was worth it to figure out what was going on and maybe learn something interesting in the process. So sue me, I was not about to let them have all the fun even if all I knew was taijutsu.

I ran up to them, knowing I would not be able to trail them silently. Kakashi, as expected, glanced at me and glared.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, not happy to see me there.

"Going with you."

"Oh no you're not."

"Stop me," I demanded, which was a stupid thing to do. Next thing I knew, everything was black again. Arguing with a jounin wasn't the smartest thing I had ever attempted, but don't think that meant I was down for the count. My stamina kicked in about three minutes later, as he had not hit my pressure point very hard, and I sat up quickly. I was annoyed to realize that they had left without me, especially once I realized I had only been unconscious for such a short amount of time.

In that case, I was going to go find my own adventure. I decided to walk towards the southern gate, and was pleasantly surprised when I caught the guards talking while switching shifts. The perfect time to get out and I took it. Just had to wait for another switch in shifts to get back in now. Hopefully I did not die in the meantime.

In the forests beyond Konohagakure, I found plenty of animals to wrestle with, but nothing of too much interest. Not until I was heading back a few hours later anyways.

I guess you would not believe that I actually did get ambushed by ninjas on my way back. Three to be exact, all of them Sound ninjas. These were the three that worked for Orochimaru, and me all alone with my sand hitae-ate. That explained why they attacked, but not how capable I was of fighting back.

When Zaku Abumi ran at me, I seriously just jumped away from him. What other choice did I have? I was not about to get blasted by sound waves, I wasn't suicidal. Then the fight took a voluble turn for the worse.

Dosu Kinuta lunged at me from behind, and I wasn't fast enough. He tackled me to the ground and left me, basically, defenseless. Kin Tsuchi stepped forward, looking me dead in the eyes, and then laughed.

"Dosu, she has no chakra," she mocked.

He corrected her quickly, "She has a lot, an unusual amount in fact, but no connection to it."

"Yeah, yeah," Zaku muttered, walking over and hovering above me. "So, what do we do with her?"

I struggled in Dosu's arms, trying to pull away but to no avail. "How about, absolutely nothing!" I shouted above their talk, and they all looked at me. Rather uncomfortable I have to say. "I mean," I adjusted, "you could just mosey on into the Leaf Village and prepare for the Chuunin Exams like everyone else…?"

"You're funny," Kin laughed, and then she squatted beside me. I turned my head to look into her eyes, and she… well, just continued to stare. "As long as you're out here, without your team, little Sand Ninja, you're all ours. Less competition."

Put that way, it made sense, but still of the numerous roles I did not like to play, innocent victim was high up on that list. Her words only managed one thing, to rile me into a fight. Which was probably exactly what they wanted. With a well-placed kick, I swung Dosu off of me and a few feet away, before going into a back handspring and flipping to my feet a few feet in the opposite direction.

They gave me odd glances, but I stood my ground as Kin took the next attack. She was fast, but admittedly I knew all of their abilities already. It would have helped more if I had known their weaknesses as well. The only one I did know the weakness of was Zaku, and breaking his arms was not going to work. I couldn't get close enough to him if I wanted to, and really, how could I deny Sasuke such a treat? Though, he did get the curse seal. I sigh, tradeoffs.

This left me with basically two options. Fight or flee, the basic instincts. My flee drive had been off for a while now though, so I was here to stay, at least until the fight was done. As she got close, I lunged towards her, prepared for the worst. She was caught off-guard and only dodged, leaving me to trip and land straight in the arms of Zaku. A blast of noise made my ears and nose begin to bleed. It was not stopping, and I was getting desperate. My body was losing control, and the next thing I knew I was on my knees.

Shutting my eyes tightly, I concentrated. Really, I was losing consciousness and my nerve, things were bad. Then, suddenly, it stopped and I was not in agonizing pain anymore. Talk about a fairy tale ending.

I stood up, and noticed that there were little sparks of light at my finger-tips. My chakra has never done that since, and I can only guess it was because I had just unlocked it. I had no idea how to use it though, so it did me no good. All I managed was an instinctual blocking of the noise that was bothering my ears and the rest of my body. Only later did I realize that this was not a normal accomplishment.

Anyway, I had done enough to get them off of my back for a while. Not that it was a happy parting, for me anyways.

"Poor weakling," Zaku laughed, walking past me. And Kin Tsuchi merely laughed while walking away. The only one that paid me any decent amount of respect, not that I really deserved it as I was pathetic at that point, was Dosu and all he did was nod. Then he left with them.

A few hours later, after waiting out the guard shift, I walked back into Kakashi's apartment, and he was sitting on the couch, glaring at me. "And where have you been, young lady?"

"Sorry daddy," I muttered irritatedly, wanting to glare. "Forgive me for staying out past curfew."

"Not amusing," was all he said in response, and I did not bother to give him the time of day by looking at him.

"So, she's the one?" a different voice broke-in. I looked over and saw another figure by Kakashi, not taking their eyes from me. The figure was hidden in shadows however, so I couldn't make out facial features. All I had to go by was a voice, which I recognized but could not seem to place. Then Kakashi answered.

"Yes, my niece."

"I see," came the feminine voice. Standing, the figure walked over to me, and I sighed. Depressing though it was, Sakura was the one standing before me. I wanted to cry, how did I not recognize her in all of this? I had thought I was good with this anime.

Then again, I only rarely watched the anime as I preferred the manga. With that in mind, it wasn't too much of a surprise I didn't know voices very well. Sakura's I should have known though, that should have been so obvious.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled, holding out a hand.

I shook it, and looked at Kakashi. "I feel the same," was my only response. I did not take my eyes off of Kakashi however.

"There is something I need you to see, Caruh," he said, and walked out of the house, obviously wanting us to follow. We did, and he led us to the edge of the village where I had followed them that morning. "Our mission," he stated, pointing. I looked over and on the grounds in chains was... Haku.

The stress of the day was too much, and I thought I was hallucinating. All I could think was, "Wha-?"

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><p><strong>Hey guys! I'm sorry, I know this update is long overdue! The last couple of weeks have been very trying for me though and I haven't had a free moment since I last updated. T.T Please forgive me!<strong>

**To make up for my horrible attention span and the fact I'm two weeks late posting this chapter, I will post two tonight. I have Chapter 4 edited already too so all I have to do is click ADD and it's there! Do you love me again? ^^ I hope so!**

**Arigato, minna-san! Ja!**


	4. Part 4: The Forest

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. There, I said it.**

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><p>I sat and stared at the body lying at my feet, and then lifted my head to face the man who had brought me here. Haku was unconscious, looking dead, with the wound from Kakashi's attack still in his shoulder. However, it was unmistakable that his chest was, incredibly, rising and falling. That was not supposed to happen. I looked at the boy again, and then back towards the man, in shock.<p>

The longer I looked at him, the more apparent it became that I was not going to get an answer without asking a question. Thus, with a sigh, I asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Why not?" Well, there was the answer of a lifetime. In fact, it wasn't an answer at all; it was another question, which helped me not at all.

I sighed, and rolled my eyes. "Kakashi, give me an actual answer."

"You are here because you said you know something about what is supposed to happen here. Therefore, can you tell us what is going on?" When he looked at me he seemed sincere, so I decided this was the truth. It made sense, after all.

"Honestly?" I had to ask, and he nodded in silence. Ignoring the fact that Sakura was there and had no idea what was going on or why I knew what was supposedly happening, I told him, "No, I don't know what's going on. He's supposed to be dead, he never comes back. Zabuza died beside him, or was supposed to. Don't tell me Zabuza's still alive?"

"No, Zabuza is dead, we checked to make sure. He does not get to come back to life after all of that, but Haku is alive. Not well, but alive. So you do not know why he's here now?"

"Kakashi-san, I do not know why Haku is alive after you shoved your fist through him when trying to kill Zabuza. I am sorry that I can't offer you more help than that, but perhaps you should explain to your student why I know so much about that mission when I wasn't even there," I offered, with an innocent smile. He turned to Sakura, who was standing there stunned and confused.

As he realized what had just happened in front of her, he tried to think of some way to talk himself out of this mess. I was not in the mood to listen while he tried to cover for his mistake, so I wandered off, ignoring him when he tried to get my attention.

Later, not much later because Kakashi had basically come up with some stupid lie and came racing after me, I was being dragged back to Haku. I sat down in front of the unconscious boy, waiting for some type of explanation from Kakashi. This time it came without prompting. "We brought him back, because we didn't know what else to do. He dug himself out of the grave, and then collapsed again. This time, when he wakes up, he is going to know that Zabuza is dead. What happens then, we have no idea. I wanted you to come out here because you have some experience and some knowledge of these people that we don't have."

"What did you tell Sakura?"

A sigh penetrated the momentary silence following my question, and then an answer. "Caruh, please, don't change the subject."

"It was merely a question, Kakashi-san," I told him, not taking my eyes off of the chained boy in front of me.

"I told her that you were partially psychic and could read people by looking at them."

"And she bought that?" This time, I actually did turn around and look at him. I was shocked she could be fooled by so simple a lie, but the truth was right there before me. She was the ditz I'd always thought she was; she believed that I was psychic. I sighed in disbelief, and then tried my best to avoid conversation until it was absolutely necessary.

Which apparently it was, only five minutes later.

"Caruh, what happened before you woke up here?"

I wasn't going to give him any answer except silence. Partially because I was annoyed, but just as much because I didn't really remember what had happened.

With a sigh, he brushed off my non-answer for the time, and lifted the unconscious boy into his arms. He then walked to a tree somewhere out in the middle of the mass of hundred year old oaks surrounding Konohagakure. Before I could react, Haku was chained to a tree. I noted that he would have a lot more than Zabuza to complain about once he woke up as the pain that would be in his arms alone would be murder. I didn't understand what Kakashi was doing, but I knew I hated this. It was wrong. Then Kakashi surprised me even more by what he did next.

"Come on, he's fine there, let's go." Those were Kakashi's words as he looked at the young man he'd chained to an oak, and they cut my heart to shreds. He sounded so cruel talking like that, I wanted to scream at him to find a heart. In his eye, though, I noticed something: a fleck of appreciation and regret for how things had to turn out. Therefore, when he turned to leave, I followed him without question.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked, curious and worried about Haku. Looking back, the sight of Haku's nearly dead form chained so helplessly to the tree sent chills through me. Could he even survive like that? I wasn't sure.

"_We_ are not going to do anything. I am going to go train my team, and _you_ are going back to my apartment. This time," he added, with a glance towards me saying that he didn't trust me, "stay there."

"Aye, aye, captain," I answered sarcastically, but I did as he said. In fact, this time I managed to make it six whole minutes in the apartment before leaving again. I had wasted no time when I got back, and I took with me the small bag of food I had made for the one I was going to visit. That done, I made my way towards the trees once again.

When I found the tree I had been looking for, I sat down in front of it and stared at the still unconscious Haku. Laying the food out before me I leaned back, resting on my elbows and looking up at the sky as it turned to dusk through the leaves. This marked the end of my first official day in Konoha, the first day I was awake the whole way through it. A lot had happened, but more was to come. The day, as I was about to find out, was far from over.

The peaceful silence was soon shattered by someone shouting. "Zabuza's dead! You killed him! You did it!" Looking over, I watched as Haku went into what can only be described as a fit. He started flailing his arms and legs, trying desperately to break the chains binding him, and I wanted more than anything to help him, though I was unsure if it was a good idea.

As it turned out, he didn't need help. With the sound of a snap and chains falling to the ground, I realized that Haku was hurling himself at me. I was frozen in place, but as his hands brushed my neck I was finally able to move again and managed to drop and roll away. This time when I looked up, I was too scared to do anything except stare. I forced myself to scoot further away, but was rather shocked to see that Haku was holding a sterling silver chain with a miniature sword replica of the same metal in his hand. My hand shot immediately to my neck and noticed that what was supposed to be there, wasn't. He had not been reaching for my neck, he had been reaching for my necklace.

Suddenly, I realized why he wanted it so badly and my heart dropped. Squirming the rest of the way out of the chains so he was free of them, he held it over his wrist. Then, with a quick flick, he tried to shove the dull, artificial weapon into his veins. He was horribly desperate to join Zabuza if he was resorting to this so quickly. With a quick kick to the hand that was holding the necklace I sent it flying, to land a few feet away. I was not going to allow him to die on me, no way on earth! Especially not a suicide!

He looked at me, and then tried repeatedly to find other ways of killing himself. First, he drew some of his own senbon needles, and I had to allow one to pierce through my hand before I could force them away from him. Then, he decided he was so desperate that he was going to try suffocating himself. Obviously that did not work, and when he came to realize how futile it was he released his own throat only to go into a jutsu aimed solely at himself, which I barely had a moment to dispel with my own chakra. I had no idea how I managed that, but it worked out well enough. Not only did I dispel it, but apparently there was enough force behind it to send him backwards into a tree and from there back into unconsciousness.

Before I knew what was going on, Kakashi was there with Iruka, both of them leaning over Haku. Kakashi looked up at me, his eye telling me that we had much to discuss, and I was rather annoyed that he was mad at me. Still, he looked me over, and asked, with a hint of concern in his voice, if I was alright.

"Oh, I'm okay, all things considered," I responded, showing him my hand. Gently, he pulled the senbon out of my flesh and wrapped my hand before the two of them carried Haku off. Kakashi carried Haku and Iruka followed to make sure they made it back without interruption or problem. It was clear what direction they were headed to: the Hokage's Tower.

I picked up my necklace and raced off after them. Clearly, they had come when they had heard Haku's shouts and had made it in time only to see me use my chakra. That was just lovely.

By the time I got there, they had already locked him in a cage with his arms and legs chained down so he couldn't hurt himself anymore. I didn't like this one bit, but before I had a chance to protest Kakashi had me cornered.

"Caruh, why didn't you tell me you'd unlocked your chakra?" he demanded.

"You didn't ask, now did you?" I answered.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed me by my good wrist and pulled me off to a training field. "You are going to learn how to control it."

"Why? I did pretty well back there," was my weak protest.

We stopped in the middle of a field, and he turned. "Then prove to me that you know what you're doing." He started seals and I knew I was doomed if I let him finish that jutsu. As soon as he released the fire-type jutsu, I could only cover my head with my hands and scream. The barrier that surrounded me protected me from attack, and I looked up rather sheepishly.

"Okay," I admitted, "I have no idea what I'm doing, but somehow when I panic it makes itself work."

He nodded, and gave a simple, "I see." I was going to say more when he added, "It looks like we're spending the rest of the night training."

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><p><strong>I told you it was here! ^.^ Anyway, I hope you all love me again, as I'm editing Chapter 5 as you read this and I will hopefully be posting it as well tonight (parhaps...?) or tomorrow. By tomorrow night definitely.<strong>

**This hopefully makes up for my inattention the last couple weeks, though I have my excuses they aren't good enough for neglecting all of you. If you do like this story, please review it so I know I have enough fans to not stop where SamuraiKai did, thanks!**

**My best wishes to everyone and I will be seeing you all again soon.**


	5. Part 5: The Practice Field

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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><p>The moon was high in the sky by the time I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion. The world was spinning and the only thing I can recollect was Kakashi lifting me gently and carrying me back to the apartment. This could only mean that practice was over for the night. Finally, I fell asleep as he carried me, the feeling of the gentle steps swaying and lulling me out of consciousness.<p>

By the time I woke up, the sun had replaced the moon in the sky. After a quick look around, and some stretches, it was clear that I was home alone, again. Eight minutes later… Boredom abounded, and the clock struck noon as I walked out and onto the street. I was getting better indeed.

As the Hokage's Tower came into view I realized where I was going. My feet and mind had led me here, to Haku's prison. I stepped inside and was greeted by the Hokage himself, asking me how I was doing. I answered that all was as well as could be expected after having my first late night practice, and he laughed lightly at that. It was quite satisfying, seeing him smile.

"So, what has brought you here?"

"Haku," I answered, holding up a lunchbox. "I brought lunch with me, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Is half of that for Haku?"

I nodded, and he smiled before leading me into a room hidden in a corner. Haku was chained there, still in the cage. My heart wrenched, but I thanked the Hokage and made my way towards him. The door shut behind me as I was kneeling in front of the snarling boy. He was angry at me for not allowing him to die, it was clear there in his eyes.

"What do you want from me now?" he demanded, glaring down at me.

"To share lunch?" I offered, showing him the food I'd packed in my eight minutes of being in the apartment.

"I won't eat it, you shouldn't even have come here."

I was rather sad to hear that, but I looked up at him. "Haku, why are you being like this? I saved your life."

"No," was his rather narcissistic response, "You ruined my death."

There was no point in arguing with that, it was true after all. He had wanted to die, and I had stopped him rather forcefully. Still, it made me mad, that he was so bent about being alive. He couldn't even imagine life without Zabuza. So therefore it wasn't worth living?

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" I snapped, looking up at him with a look that was far from friendly. He looked at me, confused and caught off-guard. His eyes showed that this wasn't what he was expecting. "I'm sorry for thinking that you may find something else to live for besides being a tool!" I stood and made eye contact with him once again, before turning. Once I reached to door, I looked back at him. "Enjoy lunch," I muttered, before walking through the door. I shut it and leaned against it, sighing. Understanding why he was acting that way wasn't the hard part, it was figuring out how to get past it that would prove to be difficult.

"Caruh?" I looked up at the sound of a voice I recognized, the Hokage's. He was sitting behind his desk, and looking at me oddly. "Is everything alright?"

"No," I answered, "no, everything is not all right. Haku is hostile, and he hates me, and I don't know what to do about it. I li-" I had to stop myself. Who in their right mind admits to lying? Not me, not right now.

This doesn't matter in the long run, he finishes the confession. "You lied to me about Kakashi and where you came from? Is that what you mean?" My ears and cheeks get warm as I blush from embarrassment at being found out. Nodding, he smiles at me. "I know. I know, and it's okay." He didn't have to say any more than that, I understood. Gracing me with another smile, he pointed towards the door. "Kakashi and his team are in the Eastern training field, they're waiting to meet you."

I knew a dismissal when I heard one and he was kind about it, so I left with a calm good-bye and made my way towards the grounds. Walking up, it became obvious they were just sitting down to lunch, and I was reminded that I hadn't gotten any as I had left it all on the floor in front of Haku.

After a moment, Kakashi waved his wrist, making a motion for me to join them. I knew these three, but I didn't know what I was walking into. Besides, they had already started eating lunch, and were now staring as I walked up.

"Uhhhh, hi?" If there ever was an uncomfortable silence it was now.

"Obviously you have a moral objection to staying in the apartment."

"Well the only thing in your apartment is dirty books, and I'm not about to read those."

Okay maybe now was that uncomfortable silence, but at least I got him to stop talking.

"Besides, I almost made it ten minutes this time." My mistake, suddenly he was talking again.

"That's an improvement."

"You again?" Sakura asked, looking between me and Kakashi.

Naruto didn't even bother with the formalities; he went straight to the source. "Who are you?"

Sasuke just glanced at me then went back to lunch.

"Name's Caruh," I answered, looking at Kakashi. I would let him finish the explanation.

"She's my niece, in a way," he answered

"I'm adopted, well kind of adopted."

"What's that mean?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It means we aren't really related."

"Exactly," was Kakashi's calm response.

"So why is she here?" Sakura looked at me again.

"That's a good question," Kakashi responded, looking at me. "Why are you here?"

"Lunch?"

"You know, there was food in the apartment, right next to the dirty books."

"... I don't know where those books have been."

"I wouldn't want to eat it either."

"Naruto!" the pink-haired one admonished. I laughed.

Sitting down, I joined them for lunch, where there was much chatter about nothing. Sakura went on and on about boys. Sasuke looked annoyed, as always, and sat in silence. Naruto just talked, about Sakura, his dream of becoming the Hokage, and pretty much everything else he could think of. Including how well his training was going. Kakashi listened while the two of them talked over each other, and let them go on.

"Speaking of training," Kakashi mentioned as Naruto finished his sentence, "it's time we got back to it."

"Let's go!" Naruto shouted in great eagerness. To which Kakashi glanced at him, probably smiling, and they got right to work. I sat and watched, feeling a little left out, but enjoying myself nonetheless.

After a few moments, Naruto ran over to me, and grabbed me by the wrist. He dragged me over to where they were practicing, laughing the whole way. "Come on Caruh! Practice with us!"

I looked at Kakashi, to make sure this was okay with him, and after a nod in my direction, I passed it along to Naruto. He smiled at the affirmative I gave him, and he decided that he and I would train. I agreed with that, and even though I knew I didn't stand a chance we went at it anyways. I lost, of course, in the end, but I learned many valuable things from that one fight. For one, I learned to avoid Naruto's shadow clones. I knew of them of course, but not how to deal with them. I would figure that out later, but for now avoiding them was best. Also I learned that an easy way to deal with his kunai were to not have to. The boy was much better than anyone gave him credit for, even if he was a bit hopeless in the maturity department.

Right after that, Kakashi decided to work on jutsu's, probably mostly for my benefit, but it was something. I slowly learned about the different signs again, and how to put them together to create an attack that could really help me in battle.

By the end of practice, I was pooped, but not enough to give up on doing something afterward. When Kakashi invited me to wander the marketplace with him I agreed, and helped him go shopping so there would be food not next to the dirty books.

I wonder if this meant he thought I would stay in the apartment for longer than ten minutes. Probably not. I'm sure that he knew me better by that point. He could not possibly think some extra food would solve my moral dilemma, if that's what it truly was. By the time we were done, I was ready to go to bed. Chakra was still new to me, and it took concentration and effort to control, two things I couldn't afford to waste at a time like this.

Back at his apartment, I help him to unpack all of his groceries, constantly asking where things go. I can stay here for quite a while with company, which I hadn't been allowed before.

As we were settling into sleep, Kakashi looked at me from across the room, where I decided I would sleep. "You're never going to last more than ten minutes in this house are you?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"Not without at least a bit of company, which your books and TV don't offer," I answer, meeting his gaze over the floor.

"In that case," he announced, "you're joining the team. Not officially, but just to come along, and do what you can. During missions, you are there to learn, not to fight, so you are going to be protected until you can prove yourself capable of standing on your own. You are always to come to our practices."

I was across the room before he even finished. With a big hug, I beamed at him. "Thank you Kakashi! Thank you!"

He hugged me back, though rather unsure, and answers with, "You're welcome, I guess." I could tell he was confused by my reaction, he probably thought I would be too lazy to actually join and just wanted to practice. Oh well, I was going to prove myself in his eyes, if only in his.

With that thought, I crawled back into my bed, my heart warmed and comforted, and fell into an easy sleep, even knowing my Sensei's eyes were on me.

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><p><strong>Well, here it is. Like I promised. Not even late this time! Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon too, so you can keep enjoying the story and I'll be able to get more written. Hope you enjoy it! 3<strong>


	6. Part 6: The Bench

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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><p>The next few weeks flew by: a blur of practice, little missions and late nights with Haku and Kakashi. True to his word, I was still not allowed to partake in missions, and someone was always at my side to keep me safe if there was even the slimmest chance of danger. Honestly, it was annoying, but it made sense. There was never any chance for me to prove I was worthy of joining them and therefore I was stuck on the outside, which kept Kakashi comfortable.<p>

Kakashi didn't like the idea of me talking to Haku as much as I did, but I could tell that there was a chance for change in him. Haku, that is. He had been moved out of the cage by then and into a small room with much longer chains, meant only to prevent escape. He had, at least, stopped trying to kill himself. Kakashi was having a hard time adjusting to having one of his students blatantly ignore his wishes. In fact, my hardest times in that month, apart from training, were the nights with Kakashi, while I had to listen to him lecture. I listened, sure, but not very closely.

One time, I actually argued back and told him that it wasn't his place to judge Haku. I knew Haku better than he ever could, and I knew that Haku was changing. He was trying, which was more than I could say for Kakashi. All that really got me, though, was a really hard time in practice the next day as punishment, and silence for a few days to follow. I consequently began to spend most of my nights with Haku. This did not make matters any better. Not surprisingly, it made things worse as far as my relationship with Kakashi.

Not that there was much of a relationship to speak of. He was so furious with me all the time, and I thought practice would kill me a few times, just like my physical education classes back in high school. This, however, was much more difficult. And I would be hard-pressed to explain why if you didn't already know.

The chakra control was the worst at first, until I remembered that Naruto went to Sakura for help, and so I decided to do the same. She gave me some really good tips, and I used them to improve. Slowly at first, but I did improve to the point that I could mimic Kakashi's casual stroll up the trunk of the tree by the time of Chuunin exams. Of course, that took time, and in that time I learned many other things as well.

The other difference this practice had with all of the other courses I took to stay healthy was that, in this case, it was truly life or death and not just for points or fun. In my Kendo class all I had to do was hit the other person with a wooden sword, here getting that close meant death in most cases. In karate, the goal was to be seen to fight up front with the opponent. In ninjutsu, the art of it all was to stay hidden. To kill, to attack, to accomplish the goal, generally from the shadows, or to make sure not to get so close as to be in trouble for it. A ninja's most effective weapons from the shadows, the shuriken and the kunai, were my two least favorite tools to use. Mostly, this is because I had horrible aim. With all of the extra training I had been getting as punishment, though, I was improving quickly.

The Chuunin exams were coming soon, and I had to be prepared. Kakashi was making sure of this to the best of his ability, though I was sure he would try to keep me out of it anyway.

One night, while I was talking to Haku, I brought up how hard practices had been and he reminded me of what his life had been like. All of a sudden, I felt bad for complaining, so I changed the subject and asked how things had been going for him recently. He told me that the Hokage and some of the other jounin had been spending time with him as well, and that he was beginning to see them as people, and not necessarily just as the enemy. He told me I was the only one that he saw as even close to a friend, however, and that was touching. This was an improvement over how things had been and I was glad to hear it. When I told him so, he slightly smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad you think so, because I am trying to move on."

This made me so glad I hugged him without thinking, but he didn't even try to push me off. He even hugged me back ever so slightly. I smiled and sat back, and we continued to talk late into the night about what he meant exactly by that phrase.

By the time I got back to the apartment I could have sworn Kakashi was asleep, but as I settled into my bed he must have woken up. As I was getting comfortable, he spoke, "So, where have you been?"

"Where do you think?" I asked, shutting my eyes, hoping he'd leave me alone. A false hope.

"Stop talking to him," were the next words to come out of his mouth.

"A bit cold hearted, are we?" I asked sarcastically, irritated.

"I'm worried about you, Caruh."

"Well, find something else to worry about. There is nothing wrong with me talking to him. Therefore, there is nothing that will be able to stop me." The last thing I wanted was to lay there and argue with Kakashi, so I turned around to face the wall. In all honesty, the man can be as dense as any other man. Being a ninja didn't help him at all in that matter.

"Caruh, he'll hurt you. He's already tried to, and you won't get away unscathed next time."

"I didn't get away unscathed last time," I shot back, indicating the scar on my hand.

Shaking his head, he answered, "I mean deeper than that, worse."

"Oh? So getting an acupuncture needle shoved all the way through my hand to keep him from killing himself wasn't bad enough?" I growled, agitated.

"It was bad, Caruh, that's not what I meant," he paused. Then he went on, with a sigh, "I meant an emotional scar. That it would traumatize you like nothing else would."

"How weak do you think I am?" I shouted, infuriated. Sitting up, I looked at him angrily, and he was looking back at me. My emotions got the better of me, so I stood up and, instead of staying to talk it over I walked out, indignant. His visible eye was on me until I shot the front door behind myself.

Walking the streets of Konoha, I thought about what was said. In his defense, without knowing Haku now his points would have some validity. What made me mad was that he refused to even give him a chance. I sat at a bench in the park and just thought while the night passed.

A memory flashed into my mind then, something I hadn't thought about in a couple of months. Something that had happened to me in my life before coming to Konoha, the time I had dubbed my "past life". I had not thought about that in some time, but a few moment specific memories came back to me right then: my first crush, my first date, my first time getting dumped and the one time I was traumatized by a guy. All the same person, in fact.

His name was Parker. He was the most popular guy in school and every girl's dream. He ended up being my worst nightmare by the time we were through. I met him at an arcade, a year before the accident that brought me to Konoha, and we hit it off right away. That seems to be how it always goes, right? Things start out so perfectly, but then… well, I'm getting ahead of myself. He asked me out the next day. What could I say but yes? I had a crush before I had any idea what was going on, and the next thing I knew, we were "in love". At least, I thought I was in love.

I thought life was perfect, until one night a few months later when I was at home alone, and he came over. He had said it was just to talk, so we snuggled up on the couch and words started flowing. When he told me how much he was in love with me, I felt so thrilled, and thought I would do anything for him. That was, of course, his plan. The next words out of his mouth were, "Let me prove it to you."

Slowly, sensually, his hand moved from my shoulders down my back and around my sides to my stomach. Down they went, caressing all the way to my thighs. A rush of danger raced through me, and I quickly pulled back from him, not liking it. All I got in response to my reaction was a smirk before I hit the floor with him on top of me. As much as I tried to get out of his grip, it was to no avail as he was too strong. He also knew about my ninja obsession, so he had learned how to keep me immobile even as I used every trick I could think of. Then again, my mind was shutting down with fear, so I wasn't thinking too well anyway.

Before I could come up with anything to help me, my pants were down and he was there, trying to ignite some passion in me. While passion sparked, so did fear and disgust, and those won out. I screamed as loudly as I could, tears forming in my eyes, but he only laughed. That was when I thought of the one thing that had kept me pure. Twisting my body, I quickly forced him off balance, and then shoved when he wasn't stable. He fell off of me, and I stood as quickly as I could, pulling my pants back up as I ran.

The only words out of his mouth as I ran up to my room and locked the door were, "You damn prude! Don't expect anyone to love you!" That was the worst, but he added to it by telling all of his friend's. Generally, I didn't care what people thought, but now I was the perfect prude, which meant that every guy wanted to break that little bubble I'd supposedly built around myself. It was hell trying to avoid all of them, but somehow I managed it. After a while, they left me alone for the most part, but he never spoke to me again after that night.

A second weight on my bench snapped me out of my memories, and with watery eyes I looked over to see who it was. A man I had never seen before sat next to me, seeming to judge me from his seat beside me. I was too tired to stand after the stressful thoughts that had been going through my mind, but I was confused and a bit worried, so I scooted to the end of the bench at least. Looking back at him I noticed his outfit, the cloak hiding his face and most of the rest of him cast shadows on what was visible, making him seem extremely creepy.

"Who are you?" I asked, scooting even further away, so I was practically falling off the bench.

He chuckled lightly, before responding, "Viden Jatchi, at your service." His voice was rough and deep, but quiet. After that, he went silent again, and all I could do was guess at what he was thinking.

Instead of just staring, which seemed tempting but would be rude, I asked another question, "Why are you here?"

"You looked like you could use some comfort, a shoulder to cry on," he shrugged.

Looking up at the sky now, I answered, "You don't seem like the comforting kind."

Another laugh caused me to turn to him again. "I can be, you'll see."

"I'll see what?" I demanded, but he stood and shook his head.

"I'm here if you need anything, you can find me at this bench, or wait here and I'll find you. In the meantime, go back home, I'm sure someone's worried about you."

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><p><strong>So, with school starting again in a week or so, I'm here trying to update as much as I can and make the most of this weekend. It is fantastic and I'm excited, but it will be a lot of work and time dedicated away from this story and any others, so I want to keep you all entertained for when the updates slow down. My goal then will be to just make the most of my weekends.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Love you all! Ja ne, minna-san!**


	7. Part 7: The Clearing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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><p>I went back that night less than confident and apologized to Kakashi for being so childish. After accepting my apology he told me that he didn't believe Haku would try to hurt me, and I felt compelled to tell him the other reason I realized I had lost it and left. He listened as I told him about Parker. He was sweet about it, saying comforting things, he also told me he was glad I fought back like I had. We kept talking, probably until dawn as I think I saw the sun shining through the window lightly as I shut my eyes.<p>

A few hours later, when I woke up, Kakashi was gone, but he left me a note to meet for practice. This meant he was "getting lost on the road of life", or visiting Obito. Figuring he would not want to be disturbed I went to the practice fields, meeting up with the team. After about half an hour they began to complain about Kakashi being late, twenty minutes later they noticed I wasn't complaining with them, and asked why.

"Have you guys ever wondered what he does to be late every day?" I asked them.

"Well, yeah," Sakura admitted, obviously curious as to whether I was going to tell them the answer to this great mystery.

I only partially disappointed them. "He's visiting an old friend that he misses quite a bit," I told them, standing, "and because we have already wasted about an hour of practice, what do you say we start without him?" All three of them seemed to like that idea.

"Me and Sakura!" Naruto called out.

Sakura looked at him, then at Sasuke, and whined, "I want to work with Sasuke though!"

"But, but, Sakura, we'll make a great team," the cute, but immature fox child complained. Sasuke just rolled his eyes. For once in my life, I had to empathize with Sasuke. There was one way to solve this.

"If we're going two-on-two," I spoke loudly to drown out Naruto and Sakura's bickering, "who would you like to work with Sasuke?"

He first looked at me like I'd sprouted wings, than grinned as what had been asked sunk in. "You," he said, the grin morphing to a smirk as the other two caught on.

"WHAT?" they shouted, both turning their heads quickly in our directions. "WHY?" (Can you say 'whiplash'?)

"She didn't try to decide for me, so I'll work with the person who gave me a choice," he explained.

Sakura gave me a death glare, to which I shrugged, and Naruto rejoiced at having gotten his way. While they were thus distracted, I looked at Sasuke, who nodded and we vanished into the trees. Our games had begun.

About an hour and a half later, making it two and a half hours after practice was supposed to have started, Kakashi appeared. Of course he appeared right between Naruto and I as we were about to go head-to-head. As we were feet away from clashing, Kakashi's appearance caused us to skid, both of us collapsing on our butts in unison to avoid running into our sensei. He looked between both of us, noted Sasuke and Sakura's whereabouts, and then shrugged.

"Looks like you don't need me to train," he said, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh at me and Naruto for having fallen for his sake. "Keep going then."

_'He expects us to just pick up again?'_ I thought to myself, slightly irritated before I realized that this was just our teacher's nature, and I gave it up. Standing, I looked at him and answered, "You kind of killed it by popping up right in the middle of everything."

"Well, forgive me," he said sarcastically, "and whose idea was it to train alone anyways?"

"Alone meaning without you?" I asked back.

"Exactly," he agreed.

Naruto answered for me, "Hers." He obviously didn't have a problem condemning me.

As I was about to point out that he was dead for doing that, and that I had to live with this man, Sasuke and Sakura appeared. A few seconds after that it was agreed that I was the sole conspirator in the plot to train without Kakashi. Although Sasuke did admit to agreeing to the idea without thinking about how Kakashi would feel about it before said sensei could turn on me. A moment after that Sakura begrudgingly agreed, which was nice even if it was only because Sasuke had said something. I was rather stunned, but glad at Sasuke's out of character support, so I smiled at him in thanks, and he nodded in return. Turning back to Kakashi, I explained we had gotten tired of waiting for him to start practice. He grinned, which I could recognize by that point, and nodded.

"You three are generous to speak for her," he said, for at that point Naruto had spoken out as well, "but I really wasn't going to get mad. It's a good thing you all decided to take the initiative for once." I breathed a sigh of relief, and then he continued. That's rarely a good sign. "I do need to talk to you Caruh, however, in private."

As I walked over to him, I noticed the other three return to doing nothing, just like we had been doing before the unauthorized training began. Without a second glance, Kakashi jumped into the trees a little ways, and I followed him. When he stopped, about fifty meters away from our little clearing, Sarutobi Asuma, sensei of Cell 10, was waiting there.

"I thought you wanted to talk in private," I said, confused.

"When I said 'in private' I meant without Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto because they are not your team anymore, if that is what you want."

"Huh?"

Kakashi's eye told me it was confession time for him, a confession he was not about to like. "I am your guardian and as there were no other teams that needed a third member, I thought it was a good idea to keep you by my side. Also, I had another reason for keeping you around... to keep you out of the Chuunin exams."

He had good reason not to want to say that. "You wanted to keep me out of the Chuunin exams?" I snapped.

"Well, yes, I didn't think you'd be ready, but-"

Asuma cut in, "There is a team that needs a third member now. I need you to join my team, now that the exams are near, to get used to working with Shikamaru and Ino beforehand so they can enter."

That made sense, but Shikamaru and Ino? "What happened to Choji?"

"He's sick."

"Sick? You shouldn't need me for a few weeks and the Chuunin exams if he's just sick."

Apparently Asuma didn't want to admit it, so Kakashi spoke up, "He got severe food poisoning, Caruh. He'll be out for at least a month, possibly a month and a half."

Who'd have thought? Choji, beaten by food? Oh, the irony.

"So, will you?" Asuma asked, sounding nearly desperate. He had a lot of faith in Shikamaru (with good reason) and Ino (…no comment). So, I needed to start training with them as soon as possible so we could work together as a team.

I looked at Kakashi, and decided to let go of my irritation for the second time that day, before turning back to Asuma with my decision. "It would be an honor," I nodded.

He was clearly pleased with that answer, and he motioned for me to follow him as he jumped off.

Kakashi smiled as I moved to jump after him. "You're ready," he said, before returning to his own team. The compliment gave me quite a different feeling from how I had been around him, and I decided to thank him that night, maybe over a nice home cooked dinner. With that on my mind, I followed Asuma, my new sensei, to meet my new team.

* * *

><p><strong>I will try to get both chapters of the mission out by tomorrow afternoon so you aren't left stuck with a cliff hanger, but I can't promise!<strong>


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